FORD MUSTANG WINS SEASON FINALE AT ROAD ATLANTA

BRASELTON, GA – October 14, 2019 – Austin Cindric and Seb Priaulx won the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season finale (GS class) at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. This dynamic duo, brought together by Multimatic Motorsports, drove the No. 15 Ford Mustang GT4 to victory lane with a stellar performance.
“Congratulations to Austin, Seb, and all the Ford Performance teams,” said Doug Yates, President and CEO of Roush Yates Engines. “It was great to see Austin and Seb win their first race for Ford to complete the 2019 season and see the Ford GTs run strong, to bring home the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup titles as this successful four-year program comes to an end. I’m so proud of these teams and the achievements they accomplished together including the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans, 2017 & 2018 Rolex 24 at Daytona to name a few. We have been blessed to provide the Ford EcoBoost and Ford 5.2L engines in partnership with Ford Performance for the 2016 – 2019 seasons for these elite program.”

The weekend started off strong with S. Priaulx, son of three-time World Touring Car Cup champion Andy Priaulx and co-driver of the Ford GT in the FIA World Endurance Cup Series, as he quickly adapted to the 2.54 mile track on Friday, recording a 1:26.808 qualifying lap to secure a front row start in the Fox Factory 120.
S. Priaulx started the first stint in the driver seat and handed the car over to Cindric to finish out the 2-hour race. With 25 minutes left in the race, Cindric passed for the lead and led the last 19 laps of the 67-lap race to build a 6.013 second lead before taking the checkered flag.

“I’ve had a lot of fun when Ford Performance brings over the NASCAR Xfinity guys and we get to do some of these races in the GT4 cars,” said Cindric. “Multimatic kind of kickstarted my career. It took off in a lot of different directions and I wouldn’t be where I am without them. I see the same thing with Seb. They believe in him and he’s done an awesome job.”
“Thanks to Austin, he did a great job to get the car home in first place,” added Priaulx. “It was a good race. We had good pace at the start, not to get the P1 spot but it was good enough to win the race today, so I’m really happy. Thanks to Multimatic and Ford Performance to give me a chance to race this car and with Austin.”

Ford Mustang teammates Chase Briscoe / Cole Custer finished P9 while James Pesek / Jade Buford finished P17 for PF Racing, and Nate Stacy / Kyle Marcelli finished P19 for KohR Motorsports.
In the final Ford GT race, of the four-year program, Ford Chip Ganassi Racing (Ford CGR) earned one final podium for the Ford GT at Petit Le Mans. In an outstanding performance by both the No. 66 and No. 67, the Ford GTs led a combined 234 laps out of the 434-lap race but ran out of time chasing down the leader after a late race caution.
The No. 67 Ford GT trio of Richard Westbrook, Ryan Briscoe, and Scott Dixon pushed hard for 10 hours and ran a strong race till the end but came up a bit short to finish P2 in the GTLM class.
“Although we would have liked to end it with a win, there’s no question our guys gave it all they had today,” said Mark Rushbrook, Global Director of Ford Performance, Motorsports. “Both cars had great pace, and we battled to the very end. It was the nature of this team and this Ford GT program from the start – to find a way to be competitive no matter what. I couldn’t be prouder of everyone involved, including our great partners Ganassi, Multimatic, Roush Yates (Engines) and Michelin. We could not have had the success we had in this program without them.”
“It started at Ford Motor Company, and then to Ford Performance, and Chip Ganassi Racing, and Multimatic, and Roush Yates,” commented Hand. “People probably wouldn’t believe those five big entities, and just bad ass people, could come together like a family in just a few months and do what we did. It’s about the people and the relationships and we had strong relationships here between Dirk and I, Seb, and Westy, Ryan and Dixie. It was a fun ride and I will have great friends for life.”
To close out the season and program, Ford CGR claimed the driver, team, and manufacturer titles in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup. This Cup is a special title which highlights the four endurance races on the IMSA 2019 schedule; The Rolex 24 at Daytona, 12 Hours of Sebring, 6 Hours of the Glen, and 10 Hours of Petit Le Mans.

During the four- year program, Ford CGR teams earned 19 wins and 48 podiums globally, in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and FIA World Endurance Championship.
26 CHAMPIONSHIPS – 377 WINS – 355 POLES!
*Pictures courtesy of Ford Performance

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